Over the last decade, Eliud Kipchoge has undoubtedly been the star-man in the marathon scene. Despite his age (38), Kipchoge has defied the human limits over and over again. Never was it thought that there would be anyone who would break his World record, let alone come close to it.
But out of the blues, a 23-year-old Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum has defied the rules of nature by obliterating Kipchoge’s world record (2:01:09) by running a mind-blowing time of 2:00:35 during the Chicago marathon to etch his name to the history books by officially becoming the first human to run under 2:01:00 in a marathon
Kipchoge once ran under two hours back on October 12, 2019, when he ran 1:59:40 in the INEOS challenge in Vienna’s Prater Park. However, this time did not count as it was a controlled condition.
Now, conversations have arisen on whether Kiptum has the target at the unprecedented time.
In his response, this is what he had to say;
“A sub-two-hour marathon is not on my mind right now,” the 23-year-old said.
The youngster made his debut at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, clocking the fastest time in a debut to win the race before his win at the London Marathon this year where he clocked the second-fastest time to win the race.
Now he says his goal is to represent Kenya in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
“For the Olympics, If I get a chance to, and I am selected, I will be happy to represent my country of course,” he told journalists on arrival in Nairobi following his record run.